Named the "Best Blog" by Parent & Child Magazine, this popular mom blog chronicles the wonderful mundaneness of a Philadelphia stay-at-home mom's life with four small children including twins in episodic form. Recurrent topics include adoption, multiples, Fifth Disease, Crohn's Disease and pregnancy, and academia.

September 25, 2008

Name My Baby...Please!!!!

At 34 weeks and change, I am beginning to get a bit panicky over the fact that we still don't have a name for this baby. We don't even have any real possibilities. So...it is with mostly (see below) open minds that we come to you for help, guidance, and assistance. Please help!

The Rules:

-The baby is a boy!

-The name must start with a hard "C" or "K" (no Charles or Cecil, for example). We thought about branching out to other letters of the alphabet, but then realized that doing so would enable this child to pretend with relative ease that he isn't part of our family. We prefer that this child be resented by his older siblings for something more important, like being given a 12pm curfew when he is eleven (can you tell that I am an oldest child?!).

-It is preferable, though not mandatory, that the name be one that is easily mispronounced or likely to be mistaken for another, more common name. My kids really like it when they are called "Amber," "Collin," and "Courtney." I similarly enjoy being called "Jan," "Jenna," "Janet," and "Janice."

An acceptable alternative to an easily mispronounced name is a name that rhymes with an embarrassing body part, a food product, or sounds like "colon" when it is said real fast. Since I have Crohn's Disease (a gastrointestinal disorder), I would like nothing better than to name my child after the part of my digestive system that was removed when I was a teenager. But my husband says "no." He also turned down "Crohn," "Colostomy," and "Colorectal" for similar reasons.

While it is impossible for your names to be as good--or disturbing--as my initial selections, I am genuinely excited to see what you come up with. I've checked out many of your blogs and have seen firsthand what cute (and cool) names you've come up with for your kids. Please work your magic for me!

137 comments

I've missed weather the baby is a boy or girl but...here are a few names I like... Cayden,Cay, Cassidy, Cameron, Camden, Kyle, Cody, Kacie, Carolyn, Kalynn..... Its soooo Hard to name a baby!! We change initials when the gender changes which is kinda stupid but since we started it we feel compelled to stick to it....so we have a Josh then 4 girls with M names 2 boys with S names and 3 girls with R names....the R names have been hard to come up with!! Good Luck!!

Koen, Cohen (I know same name just different spelling so it's really fun to mispronounce-and somewhat fulfills your colon requirement. :)) Canute, Caradoc, Carlisle (twilight is trendy), Calahan, Kaniel, Calder, Keane. I actually like Calahan and you could spell it with a K if you like. I also like Caleb. But, Kermit is a very underused name. There are so many good and fun names out there. Good luck!

My suggestions have already been taken! But I'm so glad I'm not the only one! I'm 34 weeks (yesterday) and our little boy just got a name last Thursday! I was started to get depressed! LOL! Anyway, my favs are Kade or Cade, Callum or Kallum, and Cayden or Kayden! GOOD LUCK! It's sooo hard naming a baby!

I like some of the names other people shared, but I'll try to come up with some others that haven't been said yet-- Cutler, Kendall, Kellen, Kristofer (and it's many varied spellings), Calvin and Kelby.

You might like this site for more ideas:http://www.babynameshub.com/list-boys-baby-names/a-1.html

Good luck... please don't be one of those people that call the kid baby for 6 months until they come up with a name.

I like Keegan and Keaton a lot for a boy - which I'm guessing is what you are having since so many people are only posting boy names? But if you have a girl, one of my favorite friends named their first daughter Cayleigh, which I love. Could be Kayleigh if you wanted a "k" name. And I would have suggested Colton for a boy, but you've already got a name VERY close to that in your brood which could get confusing. :)

I have friend that named her kids Kade & Keagan. And my cousin named her kids Konnor, Kya, and Krew. I know someone who did Cooper, Christian, and Cashton. We call him Cash Money. But I do love the suggestions of Katrina, Cohen, Cobain, and Kermit. And while you're at it do Kobe. I'd love for my kid to be named after an accused rapist and adulterer.

You know, there have been studies that indicate that traditional names point towards educated parents whereas names like Caden, Kash, Keegan...etc. would suggest otherwise. Cheesy, trendy names (that you most often hear in Utah) get on my nerves.

How about Carsten for mispronouncing like Kristen? I believe in punishing boys who are the youngest in the family. Colton is the closest to colon I could get. Then you could call him Coley which sounds like Kelly and all your name dreams will come true.

I thought about naming my youngest son Clinton, but my husband wouldn't allow it because of Bill and Hillary. If you don't mind that,though, I still think it's a cute name. I have a nephew named Keaton, and I like that name, too.

Our little one is...Cammon (Cam-un)It is so easily mispronounced and everyone asks us to repeat it... it's always great to hear from others (in their nicest tone) how different and original it is. He is constantly being called Cannon... we love it! :) Like we would ever name our kid Cannon... some people!

I too am wondering if I missed the announcement if you are having a girl or boy. But I've got 2 good names for you. First Carter. I have a male friend with this name and another friend with a daughter named Carter. Not common, hard 'C' and works with all your other kids names. Then I give you the name we "saved" from our friends and never used, because we had no boys. Cooper. As well as being my favorite boy name, as requested it rhymes with a bodily function, pooper, so it's got that going for it.

Corban? It's kinda popular in Utah. Even more so, Caden or any variation you'd like. There's also Kaylee and Kylee. I'll have to brainstorm while I'm out today to try to come up with the best Utahardain names!

I frequently read your blog but have never commented and I thought this the perfect opportunity. My husband and I named our son Kallon-like Dallon with a K. We thought we were very creative and had come up the name all on our own. When we went back to our Primary calling a few weeks later and we discovered there was a six year old child two classes below us with the name Kallon. He spells it Calan. Anyways it gets mispronounced often and people are usually confused on the spelling etc... Anyways we have loved the name and I thought I would pass it along to you! I guess you have a Kellen but what the heck, it will just make everything a little more confusing and intresting!:)

I love unusual names. My nephew's name is Kalen pronounced Kal-in. I like Cannon-which you can spell a few different ways-Cannon, Canon, Kanon, Kannon. My husband and I liked Chase for a boy, but it wasn't meant to be. I was actually changing my mind on my oldest son's name when I was in labor-on the way to the hospital. My husband almost stopped the car. My son's name in McCager pronounced MAC-CAGE-ER. We call him Mac. His brother's name is Mason.

My children have different name due to us being part Cherokee my son is Seneca and my daughter is Winter Moriah for the winter wind. Lets see for a C name I like Chevy, Chase like the actor. Camden,Cayden, Cash,Keanen. Good luck!

Ok, I just couldn't resist commenting. I have been following your blog for awhile and haven't ever said anything, but this is just too much fun.

I found the best website for unusual boy names (yes, Meanest Mom did say it was a boy on her blog!!!!) and chose to only read the K names as I agree with not wanting the C's to gang up on the K's. My favorites from the website are Kaasa (could be mispronounced as Kaka)KabalaKabangoKabegaKabemulaKabengeKabiliKadeenKadenKahillKaiKahoku

My boy is Koen. It get's mispronounced. I starts with a hard K. And, it is still pretty uncommon. I have heard of other Koens in the world, but never met one. And the meaning is awesome, too. Wise teacher, leader.

sorry if i posted this already. But Kerry for a boy yes Kerry could spell it Kari or Kerrie I guess. My dad always wanted a boy named Kerry but he had 2 girls and go figure my name is Dan for all intents purposes. That should provide 1. good therapy and 2. a love for Johnny Cash's A boy named Sue. Good Luck and I love your blog... Happy Naming.

How about Cullen (kinda sounds like colon)? Or, I really like Carter, Camden, or Cole. I even went to school with a Kermit and boy was he asked a ton of weird questions in school! It would definitely make for some interesting conversation.

I love your children's names, I named my children Rheaven (Raven) and Falken (Falcon). So here goes my suggestions:1) Kieron (pronounced Keeron)2) Kamdon3.) KortlenYou could also spell all of them with a "C" instead of the "K". I just like them with "K" better. Good luck!!

Dear Anonymous from Utah, I think your post was uncalled for. I am an educated person with a Masters of Science in Nursing degree, My Husband also has a college degree, We chose to name our children unique names instead of traditional names (their names are....Harley....Braedon....Gage. We think it gives them a little bit more uniqueness to add to their very unique personalities. In no way does this reflect on us being uneducated sorry, but I have to disagree with that.

since my first born is named kimball, i'd like to say: keep away!:) i like that it's uncommon. i suppose, since you live clear across the country and they are unlikely to end up on the same soccer team, it would be okay.

i liked cannon for our second son, but my husband wanted to avoid the very alliteration you seek.

i love cole, with which you could use "colon" as a sweet little nickname! campbell and coleman are also cute.

good luck. our third son had three different names by the time he was one hour old. but the third stuck.

So I did a lot of thinking and wanted just to add one name, since everyone else gave you lots of choices. I thought about your situation and how it happened to be Chance that you turned down the job offers. I thought it would be cute if you called him Chance. (I know it doesn't fit your one rule, but just an idea) Can't wait to find out what name you picked. GOOD LUCK WITH ALL THE CHOICES!!!~Lifeguard Kelsey

Ok, well if it has to be a K or a C, I like Keiser which means King in German, Cannon though this would leave 3 C's to 1 K. I also like Karsten which is also German and does not sound liker Kristian like someone else wrote. It sounds like Car Sten. I think you should ditch the rule and go for some really cool literary writer like Faulkner or Tennessee. Strong names that he will not get teased over. That is the problem with some of these names they are too girly like Cassidy. You have to think down the line when he is going for his Ph.D. and wants to publish and get a job. Though having employers think he is a girl might be a good thing at least in getting him a interview if Equal opportunity is an issue. Read the book beyond Jennifer and Jason. It says girls can have really weird names and suffer no consequenses from that; however, boys are more likely to end of in jail. They just get teased way too much. Well, Good luck! I am sure you will come across a name that you just know is this baby. My suggestion is though don't tell anyone. We made the mistake of telling everyone what we wanted to name our third son and ended up changing it because everyone said what Rainer what kind of name is that????? We ended up with Roman which is nice too, but sometimes I wish we had named him Rainer.

Carl....you know it is great. I saw someone actually mentioned Keith already, he may come out with a moustache with that name. Too bad you won't change your mind to make room for the names Gary & Bruce....both great names.

These have already been suggested, but I love Caleb or could be Kaleb, Cooper, Colton, Kelso (I love this name for some reason. I get inspiration from that seventies show, go Ashton Kutcher.) Kyler, Kreb, Cannon, Kelton

Oh so many neat and not so neat suggestions. I didn't read down through all 88 of the comments left but how about Kyson?

Good luck with the last few weeks of pregnancy. I picked out my daughter's name 9 years before she was born. Both of her following brother's were named two days after they were born after going through dozens of names before we finally decided.

I guess you need to refer some of these people who aren't in the know to the video of you telling your kids what you are having simply because they will laugh and cry at the same time, priceless!!Let me just dust off my pedigree chart here for ya...KaylorKingKnightZebulon, oh wait that doesn't start with a K/CCortelyou (seriously!!)Couwenhoven (pronounce that if you dare)ConradKohler (then he'd be forever associated with toilets, but don't tell your husband and maybe he'd let it slide)KasparKrachenbuel (say it with a thick German accent)ChrismannCowburn (I promise I'm not making things up)ClemencyThat's all I got, have fun!!

ooh fun... Keegan, Cade, Colton, Cash, Carter, Cole, Kane, Cooper, Cassidy. Ok so I just looked & it looks like I repeated names that others already offered up. You have some good ones to choose from. Good Luck!

I would have to say Chase (my kids are K & C too! :)). Although it might sound like a typical name, there is nothing typical about naming your child after a verb.... I don't know how many odd looks I get as I innocently tell my daughter K. to "chase Chase".

If you want something that people will mess up on, I like the nameCase (people will try and call him Casey or Cass or Chase.)You have so many to chose from that I won't bother you with other names, even though I like others more.

I guess I will come out of the closet and put in my two cents on your baby name...(normally I just stalk your blog, and laugh a lot)After all, as a mother of 3 children doesn't that make me an expert and isn't it my right to give my opinion on everything pregnancy to those who find themselves in the state of "knocked up?!" My vote is for "Crew".

Okay, what cracks me up about half of these comments is that they begin: "I'm not sure if you are having a boy or a girl..."Hello? Can you read? Anyway, lots of good suggestions. I can't think of any to add. Have fun!

I don't know if this name has been mentioned yet (since it's not my kid I'm not taking the time to read through ALL the posts), but there is an MTV reality show that has challenges for previous cast members and there is a real hick guy on there named Cohutta. Wow...I know, Cohutta. You could really have fun with THAT one!

We didn't have a name for our youngest son until he was 5 days old. The hospital staff freaked out when we left without the paperwork done. They kept saying "you have seven days to register his name". We're thinking; Or what? You gonna reposess the baby? Take your time. He's not going anywhere and no child has ever suffered from being called "the baby" for a week.(One name we liked but didn't choose was Caleb, that's a good one!)

I am a newcommer to your blog site, but when I read you were having a boy I couldn't resist the chance to share a made up name from my super smart nephew Ian. When he was 2yrs. old he named his Build-a-bear pet Brontin. I love this name, but my husband didn't go for it. We settled with naming our son, Carter.(so I guess there is another 'C' name for ya). I know Brontin (or Bronten) doesn't start with a hard C or K, BUT it does end in the 'n' sound like your son's names do. So your new little guy couldn't completely disown his place in your family. Anyway, couldn't resist the chance to share it.....I love your blog by the way, as I see many do. Your humor is inspiring. I couldn't help, but notice you went to BYU, so did my husband! Go Cougars! We live in a suburb of Salt Lake City. ~Kate

I'm not from Utah and whether you agree with it or not...that's what studies have shown. And since practically everyone in Utah gives cutesy "unique" names to their children, that hardly makes them stand out.

which means "the white lehua (which is a famous flower in the hawaiian islands), placed in the calm, radiating goodness. His siblings would be so totally jealous that he has a cool name with meaning. And with lots of practice, he may learn how to spell it and pronounce it by the time he's 50! So that's awesome!!!

in response to brenda...i'm not saying i agree or disagree but the commenter who mentioned the studies did not make that information up. once jana posted that she enjoyed a book called freakonomics by steven levitt. there are two chapters on this exact topic, with references to the studies on the link between baby names and the education/successfulness of the parents. http://freakonomicsbook.com/